Transcript Mark Chapter 8 - Friends in Faith

Mark Chapter 8
1-10 The Feeding of the 4,000
11-13 The Pharisees Want a Sign
14-21 The Dull 12
22-26 The Blind See
27-33 Peter Confesses The Christ
34-38 The Cost of Discipleship
The Dull 12
14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not
have more than one loaf in the boat with them.
15 And He was giving orders to them, saying,
“Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod’
Jesus uses their discussion for an important lesson:
What do you think the leaven (yeast) stands for?...
Influence, most often the evil influence of sin
What is the leaven of the Pharisees?..
In their unbelief, they sought a sign
What do you think is the leaven of Herod?...
In his unbelief, he sought a sign
16 They began to discuss with one
another the fact that they had no bread.
Do you think the boys have any clue what
He is discussing?
17 And Jesus, aware of this, said* to them, “Why do you
discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see
or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?
18 “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you
not hear? And do you not remember,
There are five questions here:
1. Do you not understand?
2. Is your heart hardened?
3. Can’t you see?
4. Can’t you hear?
5. Don’t you remember?
The problem isn’t faith but a lack of focus!!!
19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how
many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They
said to Him, “Twelve.”
20 “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many
large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And
they said to Him, “Seven.”
21 And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Where is the focus of the disciples?..
On the things of the world
Where does Jesus want their focus to be?..
On the things of the spirit
Are we guilty of the same?...
Is our number one concern on the things of the spirit or the
things of the world?
Do you not understand?
The disciples couldn’t understand the living “Word” of God even though
He was in their presence
Over and over they discussed, reasoned, debated and even argued
among themselves when standing there with them was the living
Word
How often are we caught up in this cycle when we have the completed
work of God at our fingertips?
Matt. 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on
bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
As we discussed last week, where should our focus be?..
On God’s word
Matt 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
Can’t you see?
They watched miracle after miracle and still couldn’t grasp
the fact of “God among us”
How often are we blinded by the things of the world to the
point of no longer being able to see?
Matt 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your
eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23 “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of
darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how
great is the darkness!
What goes in your eye that lights your body?
Books, magazines, TV, films…God’s word
Anything wrong with this list?
The list is fine, it is the balance that is off center!
Can’t you hear?
Better, who are we listening to?...
The voice of the things of the world or:
1John 4:5 They are from the world; therefore
they speak as from the world, and the world
listens to them.
6 We are from God; he who knows God listens
to us; he who is not from God does not
listen to us. By this we know the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error.
Don’t you remember?
Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
How many blessings do we forget?
Natural Beauty
Natural Resources
Income
Recreation
Precious Gifts
Family
Food
Sorry Chet, this
isn’t edible
Good Health!!!
Salvation
Fellowship
Guidance and Direction
Is your heart hardened?
1John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in
the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh
and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of
life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but
the one who does the will of God lives forever.
Consistent flirting with the world will harden
our heart toward God
The Blind See
8:22 And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind
man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him.
It is interesting that He just finishes talking about
the blindness of the 12 and when He reaches the
shore, here is a physically blind man!!
This is the final step in the awakening of the
disciples as presented by Mark
Who do you think brought him to the Lord?..
Probably friends
Were they passive or aggressive?...
Aggressive
How can we be a friend to others like this today?..
Prayer
How should we pray for them?... Passive or aggressive?
8:23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of
the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His
hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
Notice He lead him “out of the village”, why?...
This is a very personal and private healing
Based on the teaching in Mark, how many people did Jesus
heal that either they, or the ones who brought them didn’t
have faith?...
None
This healing is different than most in that it is progressive,
not instant. Jesus is God, He is all powerful and is the
Creator of all things, why not an instant healing?....
Faith
Jesus chose to work through the faith of the people, watch
how that develops:
8:23 Continued:
and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him,
He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
That is a good lesson for us because it shows
the importance of having the private or quiet
time with God
Just like in certain healings, Jesus used the
opportunity of being alone with the men to
help grow up their faith
He will do the same with you;
do you have a quiet time with Him?
8:23 Continued:
and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on
him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
Like the healing of the deaf mute, Jesus chooses to use
saliva to either prepare him for what was to happen or to
emphasize the source
Why does God ask “Do you see anything, wouldn’t He
know?..
This is a strong indication that the man’s faith was not
complete. Jesus decided to gradually heal the man giving
him time to respond with increased faith.
Remember, without faith there is no healing!!!!!!!
Do you ever wonder why certain things come slowly to you?..
Maybe God is allowing your faith to grow by slowly
responding to certain needs???
8:24 And he looked up and said, “I see men,
for I see them like trees, walking around.”
He is beginning to respond. It is like the person you
witness to, slowly and gradually starting to see or
understand the truth
The other point is that Jesus is allowing the blessing
to slowly soak in. He is giving him time to enjoy
what is happening
Do you take time to enjoy the blessings of God?...
As I prepare this note I wonder how many of us truly enjoy
the work God is doing in our life or are we too impatient for
it to be over or to preoccupied to even notice?
8:25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and
he looked intently and was restored, and began to
see everything clearly
26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not
even enter the village.”
Jesus touches him a second time and the
restoration is complete
Again Jesus seeks to avoid attention by diverting
the man away from the village. At least the
healing is not lost on His disciples as we are
about to see….
8:27 Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the
villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He
questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do
people say that I am?”
Caesara-Phillipi is at the foot of
Mt. Hermon on a shelf about 1,150 feet
above sea level
It was built by Herod and named for the
ruler of Rome and himself
It contained a shrine to the god Pan
Peter Confesses The Christ
at Caesarea-Philippi
Pagan Temple Area
Caesarea-Philippi
Pagan Temple Area Close-up
Sacred Cave
8:27 Continued:
…and on the way He questioned His disciples,
saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?”
So here is Jesus and His disciples in this very pagan
setting and He asks the question – “Who am I?”
First He wants to know what the people say
28 They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and
others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”
Notice the progression here from John to
Elijah to simply one of the prophets
Also notice that no one says He is the
Messiah
29 And He continued by questioning them, “But who
do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to
Him, “You are the Christ.”
Eureka, Eureka, Eureka, Eureka, Eureka!!!!!!!!!
Peter, speaking for the group says they finally get the point,
Jesus is Messiah!!
Do you realize that in a way, everyone will be asked that
question at one point and their eternal destiny depends on the answer
Matt. 16:17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon
Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but
My Father who is in heaven.
18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and
whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in
heaven.”
Mark 8:30 And He warned them to tell no one about Him.
Why this warning?..
They still didn’t truly understand the concept of Messiah and
Jesus wanted to complete their education before they could
proclaim it
Now comes the polishing of their knowledge and major
turning point in the ministry of Jesus
Here He would as Luke puts it: “set His face to go to
Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51)
This is hard for the Jewish men to understand
because they were ALL looking for a different person
From this point in the gospel to its end we will be
Geographically and spiritually working our way to Jerusalem
while Jesus is teaching what the Messiah will do and what
is expected of His followers
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man
must suffer many things and be rejected by the
elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be
killed, and after three days rise again.
“Son of Man” used 81 times in the gospels and
only by Jesus referring to Himself (the only two
exceptions are both in Mark, were he used it
as editorial comments)
Why do you think He uses this term?...
First to associate Himself with mankind and
second as a direct reference to:
Daniel 7:13 “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
14 “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of
every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
Verse 31 continued: must suffer many things and be rejected by the
elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three
days rise again.
Here is the prophecy of exactly what will take place leading to the cross, a
prophecy that can only fit Messiah, The Son of Man
What are the many things?…
All of the suffering that leads to the cross, the beatings, illegal trials the
scourging culminating on the cross itself
Why does He mention the three groups?..
They constitute the Sanhedrin
The word rejected = “fail to pass the scrutiny” can you imagine that Jesus
failed the test of any man let alone the religious leaders of the day!
Notice that the disciples do not comment on the resurrection, why?..
Either they didn’t believe Him, understand Him or they attributed the
resurrection He speaks of as the resurrection of the last days
Did you notice that Jesus says “must suffer”, why must?..
He is telling us that this is a cup that He must drink, there is no choice in
the matter. It is God’s Divine will that Jesus suffer and die
8:32 And He was stating the matter plainly.
And Peter took Him aside and began to
rebuke Him.
What does Mark mean He was stating the matter
plainly?..
It was not veiled, no parable here
The word here for rebuke is the same one used for
the silencing of the demons in 1:35 and 3:12!!!
Can you imagine the boldness or maybe the
dumbness of Peter?
8:33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for
you are not setting your mind on God’s interests,
but man’s.”
Peter’s rebuke shows that he clearly understood what Jesus said but that
he didn’t understand what it meant
Why was Peter’s rebuke met with such a sharp response by Jesus?..
Because Peter was looking for a Messiah who would defeat the Romans
Why is this such a big issue with Jesus?..
Because the gospel IS the cross of Christ! Salvation comes ONLY
through His substitutionary death!
Why does He turn to the disciples with the rebuke?..
Because Peter is their spokesman and was probably acting accordingly
Why does He refer to Satan?…
Peter is attempting to direct Him away from the cross. That is Satan’s plan
and a temptation that Jesus had dealt with in the desert when Satan
offered worldly substitutes for the cross (worldly kingdoms)
8:34 And He summoned the crowd with His
disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to
come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up
his cross and follow Me.
Why does Jesus decide to include the crowd in this
statement?..
This teaching is for all of us
What does “come after me” mean?..
To follow Jesus
What is the self denial Jesus is referring to, is he saying that
we must give our self up for Him?...
No, although there may be times that we need to sacrifice for
Him, the point He is making is that we must realize that God
is the center of our life not our self.
8:34 Continued:
and take up his cross and follow Me.
What does “take up his cross” mean?…
The Christian life WILL come with suffering and just like Jesus we will
carry the cross if we truly seek to follow Him. In essence as believers we
will endure suffering and eventually death
While this message is specifically intended for the Roman Christians who
were suffering and dying, it also has significant meaning for us
Name some ways that we suffer for our belief:
How do we deny self to make Christ the center of our life?...
Summary; to be a true disciple of Jesus we are required to do two things:
To deny self
To carry our cross daily
Does this mean that we can leave our cross at home
sometimes?
35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake and the
gospel’s will save it.
What does this verse mean? …
In this life, you can either deny your self and accept
Jesus as the Lord of your life OR, deny Jesus and
Be the lord of your own life
If you chose Christ, what will your priorities be:
First, my life will be lived for the sake of Christ.
Second, my life will be lived for the sake of the
Gospel
How do you live for the sake of the gospel?..
You give it out as a priority!
How do you live for the sake of Christ?..
By making Him your first priority!
8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole
world, and forfeit his soul?
37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his
soul?
Why is this verse here?..
Because it shows the result of denying Christ in
your life
We can obtain the entire world, just like Mr. Microsoft has but
if we deny Jesus we literally lose our soul to Satan
How valuable is a soul?
Notice the worldly terms, profit – gain – forfeit – exchange
The person who denies Christ accepts the world in trade!
8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be
ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father
with the holy angels.”
Here is the final result of the decision:
Accept Christ now and He will proudly proclaim you
to His Father
Reject Him now and He will reject you before the Father
The result is, as John points out; John 1:12, and Paul says;
Romans 10:9-10: The advantage is that with Christ you will
NOT face judgment
What choice have you made?...
Does it show by your lifestyle?
Is Christ first?
Is the gospel foremost?
What do we take home?
1. Beware of the leaven (influence) of the world.
2. Do you: understand, see, hear, remember and if
so, is your heart hardened or fertile ground for
the Lord?
3. How is you daily quiet time?
4. Who is the Messiah to you?
5. Remember, God may be working slowly to help
your faith increase!
6. Are you taking up your cross daily?